The glittering lights of the city below flickered on as the sun sunk below the horizon. As much as Ashton enjoyed this peaceful moment, he needed to let go. After tomorrow Summer would know the truth. She would know that he was a monster child who had murdered his own parents. He had seen how close she was to her own family, and he could easily picture how much the truth would hurt her. That was why he needed to keep his distance and end things here before she was left with anything more to regret.

  "Should we head back?" Ashton asked, "It is a long drive and we don't know for sure what is coming tomorrow."

  "What do you mean?" Summer asked, "Didn't Harper already fill you in?"

  "She only warned me about the main topic," Ashton revealed, "Since there is no training scheduled it might show up as a computer course, or it might be a surprise training."

  Summer was silent for a moment, her gaze back on the scene below. "Can't we just stay together like this for a little longer?"

  The emotions in her voice almost made Ashton waver, but he could not compromise here. "If you still feel this way after tomorrow, I will be happy to go on more dates with you," Ashton promised instead, "However you feel tomorrow, I don't want this moment to be one you will regret."

  "If you are so certain I will regret this, why even come?!" Summer lashed out, whipping around to face him again. Her eyes were glistening as if she was about to cry, twisting the guilt in Ashton’s gut.

  That was true. Why was he here? Why come at all if he knew from the start she would regret this? Why invite her on the team when he knew the truth would get out? He could tell her he wanted to spend more time with her, but that would give her hope. Should he just admit that he was a selfish fool? One that didn’t even understand his own actions.

  "Everything I could tell you only sounds like a lame excuse," Ashton admitted, "I must truly be selfish. I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."

  "I don't care if I regret this moment," Summer declared, "Right now all I want is to make the most of the time we have together, and I can't imagine anything changing my mind."

  "Nothing at all?" Ashton asked with a slightly bitter smile. Summer, who grew up in a sheltered and well-off family, had no idea that the man standing beside her was a murderer. That was the only reason she could say those words. Maybe it was the emotions heavy in the serene night air, or maybe his reason finally snapped. Either way, Ashton knew he had messed up the moment his lips touched hers.

  What was he even doing? He spent all this time trying to push her away only to kiss her? It was no wonder Summer was confused. The fact that she had kissed him once before was no excuse.

  "I should drive back,” Ashton told her, quickly stepping back to give her space.

  Summer handed over the keys, and they drove back in silence. The station was still set to the soft classical music, and for once Ashton wished for something louder that could overpower his thoughts. Summer didn’t even say goodbye as she headed into her apartment. Would things be like this from now on? It left Ashton with an empty feeling, but he knew that he deserved it.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Now, all he could do was wait.

  The next morning, after Summer was summoned for her own private training, Ashton gathered the other members of the team. They at least deserved a fair warning. Once Summer returned she would likely treat every one of them differently.

  The Smith twins were still in their apartment. Levi was earnestly tackling his online training while Kai was cleaning up breakfast. Neither of them were surprised to hear the news. Kayla had also expected it.

  "With all of us being who we are, they couldn't leave her in the dark for long," Kaya pointed out, "If she was going to find out sooner or later, they probably figured it was better to tell her themselves."

  "I'm not too worried about it," Kai added, "She already knows what our powers are. If she wasn't fazed by that reveal, a little government secret isn't going to be that big of a deal. Especially since she already had the shock of a lifetime from being one of the heroes of SI."

  "SI was far more convoluted than the facilities," Levi agreed, "At least we knew exactly what our place was there. I could never have managed to play a part like you did."

  “It’s not something I ever wanted to do either,” Ashton pointed out, “But Summer is different. She has always wanted to be a hero. A fake villain might not dissuade her, but a real convicted criminal would, and should.”

  “Why do you hate yourself so much?” Kai asked. His gaze was more piercing than Ashton was ready to face.

  Hate himself? Ashton had never really thought about it before, but now that Kai had said it, that seemed right. Between Kai’s judgement and Kayla’s pity, the room quickly became suffocating. “Don’t all of you know exactly why?” Ashton asked instead. They should all know, anyway. All of them came from facilities with higher security so finding out about a monster who murdered his own parents would be easy for them.

  “That wasn’t your fault,” Levi butted in, “It was that power going out of control on its own. That is why you chose to work here, isn’t it? You share all of our hope to one day be free of the curse.”

  Kayla nodded. “That’s right! Powers are all anyone cares about, but all they do is make people suffer. We all joined you because we believe you are capable of changing that. Summer is no different. Hasn’t she also suffered because of her power?”

  They were right, but it wasn’t like their words magically made his nervousness disappear. Still, it did ease his tension a little. “Thank you,” he told them.

  “But if she does reject you, I will still be right here,” Kayla added with an odd tone of pride, “I’ll always be waiting for her to mess up.”

  Ashton once again wondered just what MysteriousMaskz had told her to make her so fond of him. Why was the mastermind so obsessed with him in the first place? Surely he didn’t actually believe that Ashton had the ability to change the world.

  The rest of the hour was spent in near silence, before Harper called the rest of the team together to join Summer for the main part of their training. Summer seemed calmer than Ashton had expected after hearing that news, at least until he saw her gaze when she locked eyes with him. That fierce determination nearly made him take a step back as she charged towards him.

  “Summer?” Ashton asked, unsure of how to react.

  Summer grabbed him by the collar and pulled him towards her, dragging him into a kiss that felt more like crashing into her than something romantic. Ashton grabbed her shoulder to stop her from losing her balance as he pulled back. His face felt hot. His ears were burning. What was that?

  “I told you it wouldn’t change anything,” Summer announced stubbornly.